Updated Mar. 6, 2020
Index of this Page
58. The Sky
59. Sleep
60. Patience
61. Crowded Places
62. Sharing
64. Writing
65. Tea and Coffee
67. Colours
69. Good News
70. Health
71. History
72. Your Ideal Home
73. Intelligence
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Note: Many people look at the sky in the morning in order to know what the weather is going to be like that day.
We “look at” things that are not moving; we “watch” things that are moving. We “see” when our eyes are open.
A cloud, cloudy, cloudiness
Cloud formations (the shapes of the clouds)
Fine weather
clear skies (a clear sky)
At dawn = when the sun is coming up; at dusk = when the sun is going down
smog, smoggy
The sun, solar
Astronomy, astronomical, astronaut [Note: “astrology” is completely different to astronomy. Most people consider astrology to be superstition.]
A galaxy
The Solar System
The planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
Mercury (水星), Venus (金星, Earth (地球, Mars (火星), Jupiter (木星), Saturn (土星), Uranus（天王星), Neptune (海王星), Pluto (冥王星）
The moon, lunar
A telescope
An observatory
A planetarium
An eclipse of the moon; An eclipse of the sun
A meteor (“a shooting star”); an asteroid; a meteorite (= a meteor that has hit the earth)
A constellation
Outer Space
A space ship; a space station; a rocket
A satellite
To “contemplate the mystery of the universe”, “to marvel at the mystery of the universe”, “to wonder about the mystery of the universe”
The Universe = The Cosmos
Infinite
Alien life forms; extraterrestrial life (forms)
A UFO (An Unidentified Flying Object)
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59. Sleep
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60. Patience
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about eight hours a day
to “hit the sack” (colloquial)
my bedtime
a “night owl”
a “morning person”
to “recharge the batteries” (or battery)
“put my head down on my desk”
A “cat nap” = a nap for just a few minutes
To/a snooze
old people – You can say you’re not sure or you can talk about your grandmother who used to live with you.
insomnia
importance of sleep – mood, alertness (ability to concentrate), general health, attractiveness, . . .
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Impatience is a feeling of annoyance (or, irritation) because something is not happening as fast as you would like. In general, it is an unwillingness to wait. For example, one can feel impatient with a slow download from the internet.
People sometimes feel impatience when they are greatly anticipating or looking forward to something to happen. For example, feeling impatience before you are old enough to get a driver’s licence, old enough to get married, or impatient to graduate from university.
Sometimes we feel impatient when we are waiting for a bus or train to arrive.
Impatience in situations of person-to-person relationships is an example of being self-centred rather than considering the situation from the other person’s position. Showing patience towards others is an example of being kind.
We are all impatient at times.
Repetitive work
Feelings when others are impatient with you – belittled, insulted, offended, hurt, frustrated, angry, . . .
It is possible to feel impatience but not show it. Showing impatience towards others is an example of a momentary loss of self-control. In all cultures, it is considered impolite to show impatience towards others.
People tend to become more patient with age because they learn, from experience, the value of waiting and the uselessness of feeling impatient.
Impetuous, impulsive
Children & young people are sometimes impetuous.
People sometimes become impatient when they are tired, under stress, when they have a personal problem, when they have a health problem, when they feel frustrated, or when they are panicked.
composure, composed
diligence
endurance
fortitude
humility
moderation
perseverance, to persevere
persistence
restraint
self-control
tolerance
calmness, calm
constancy
cool
forbearance
leniency, lenient
long-suffering
serenity, serene
stoicism
submission, submissive
sufferance
toleration, to tolerate
an even temper, even-tempered
staying power
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“Crowded” refers to many people in one relatively small space. It is not suitable to refer to a road being “crowded with cars”.
Places – A stadium; major train stations; the airport; on a bus or train; some shopping centres; restaurants or shops; cinemas; the stairs at your high school after classes have just finished; in an elevator (a lift), . . .
Feelings – Negative: annoyed (e.g. if your clothes are being crushed by other people pressing against you or if you dislike the smell of others), scared, unsafe (e.g., worried about pickpockets or other thieves), worried about safety (e.g., being crushed)
Feelings – Positive: excited, a sense of being part of a group
to stand in line = to queue up; long lines
“packed in like sardines”
cramped
to squeeze in
full
huddled
jam-packed
loaded
packed
teeming
brimming with
close
compact
crammed
packed
crushed
overflowing
stuffed
swarming
brimful
chock-full
elbow-to-elbow
filled to the rafters (a room)
standing room only (in an audeince)
tight
wall-to-wall
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In common, joint, common
To save money
A personal possession
Generous, generosity
Fair, fairness
Kind, kindness
Stingy
Greedy
Selfish, unselfish
To split the cost
Communal
Cooperation, to cooperate
Car pooling, Uber
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to “keep hydrated” = to “keep my body hydrated”; to “keep myself hydrated”
body fluid
Good for the skin (the complexion), especially if you drink water before bed.
Sweat = perspiration
To re-hydrate myself
To cleanse the body
A litre of water, a cup of water, a glass of water
Possible impurities in tap water – rust; heavy metals esp. lead (Pb); bacteria; fluoride (added to water to kill bacteria and to strengthen teeth but many people feel it is a poison); other chemicals especially if the water is from a river or a lake.
Potable (= “drinkable” but we don’t usually say or write, “drinkable”). For example, clean water is potable.
Distilled water
Spring water
Rain water, a water tank
A reservoir
A water catchment area
Ground water (= water from underground)
A water dispensing machine
A water purifier (sometimes attached to taps, usually including a filter.)
To boil water, to kill bacteria (= to sterilize the water)
a culture (tradition) of drinking hot / warm water
Bottled water – usually sold in 500 or 600 ml plastic bottles but also sold in larger containers that can be delivered to your home or office.
Use www.howjsay.com to hear the correct pronunciation of new words, including the two-word compound nouns such as “distilled water” or, “distilled water”, “bottled water”, “tap water”. “spring water”, “ground water”, “catchment area”, “sweat” and “lead” (the metal), “dispensing machine”, “water purifier”.
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See also #16. Letters
Urgent, Requiring immediate attention
Spam (junk emails)
An attachment (for emails)
A postcard (e.g., bought at a tourist location)
A note, a memo, a report, an assignmentt (at university & high school)
a text message (e.g., on a mobile phone), to text someone, texting
Typewritten
I’m not a fast typist.
To write using / on a keyboard, such as on a computer
To write by hand
Legible, legibility, illegible
Scrawl (n & v) = untidy or illegible handwriting
Atrocious handwriting
Neat, tidy, attractive
To print (to write each letter individually)
Cursive writing = cursive script = running writing
Penmanship
Shorthand
Calligraphy (for Chinese people) = “Chinese calligraphy”
A (Chinese) character =汉字
A stroke =比画
Handwritten cards & letters – a personal touch (stress on “personal”)
A love letter (“love” stressed more than “letter”)
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Caffeine, a stimulant, a habit, be addicted, an addict
Tea bag, tea leaves
Medicinal qualities (of tea)
Green tea, black tea, milk tea
Herbal tea (not from the traditional tea plant)
A kettle, to boil water, an electric jug
Instant coffee
Black coffee (no added milk or cream)
Decaffeinated coffee
Percolated coffee, roasted coffee beans, grinder, a percolator, coffee grounds
Ice(d) tea, ice(d) coffee
A coffee shop, a tea house
It makes me (feel) more alert, It helps me wake up, It energizes me, It’s my “heart starter” (after waking up), It refreshes me, It stimulates me
The aroma, the taste
My morning “cuppa” (usually tea)
Morning tea, afternoon tea
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When describing a woman – beautiful, pretty (pretty is most often used to describe girls or females who are not yet adults or who are very young adults), attractive, good-looking, gorgeous, appealing, sexy, adorable, a “doll” (to describe a gorgeous woman, a word used by men), “foxy”, “very becoming”, "looks like a movie star"
When describing a man – handsome, attractive, good-looking. The following words are only or usually spoken by women to describe a man: gorgeous, appealing, sexy, adorable, a “hunk” (to describe a very sexy man), “very becoming”, "rugged good looks", "looks like a movie star" . . .
“Lovely” is not a very suitable or accurate word to use when describing someone’s appearance. It is used more to describe the total impression that another person gives, including their personality.
Be pleasing to look at
pleasant
A “ravishing beauty” = an extremely beautiful women
“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” – a proverb.
“I couldn’t take my eyes off her/him” (physical attraction)
Other words similar to (but not exactly the same as) “beautiful” (for women) - alluring, elegant, stylish, comely (esp. her figure), statuesque (esp. her figure), glamorous
Other words similar to (but not exactly the same as) “handsome” (for men) - elegant, stylish, stylish, polished, statuesque (esp. his physique, his build), dapper (similar to stylish), suave (similar to stylish but including manner of speech etc.), glamorous
Plain = to describe a woman who is not very attractive, but not really ugly, either. Not usually used for men.
Although some people use, “charming” when describing another’s person’s appearance, it is mostly used to describe an attractive personality, not an attractive appearance.
Inner beauty (in the “soul”) / physical attractiveness = external beauty
Inner beauty => personal traits = personal characteristics = personality + character (character = ‘moral’ character e.g., sense of right and wrong, loyalty, perseverance, patience, honesty, one’s values etc. These are learned but some part of “personality” seems to be inborn.)
“Thin”, slim (positive), “skinny” (negative), “She looks anorexic” (very negative)
“stark beauty”
A picturesque scene
Landscape = landform
A scene (countable), scenery (non-count)
To “marvel at the wonder of nature”.
A beautiful sunset, sunrise
“Beautiful weather”, a beautiful day
Beautiful music, beautiful food (to look at, not meaning delicious), a beautiful aroma (e.g. perfume). From these examples we see that the word, “beautiful” can be used in English to describe pleasant sensations (using the senses of the body).
People associate places where there are no people with “peacefulness” (quiet).
Beautiful bird calls
A unique place, a new or rare experience.
A desert, Antarctica = The Antarctic (The South Pole), uniformity, monotony
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In English, when talking about the colours, especially the basic colours (e.g., red, blue, green, white, black, yellow etc.) we just say, “red” not “red colour”. However we do say something is “coloured red” and, “the colour red” etc.
Rainbow
the colours of the spectrum
Lavender, purple, violet, turquoise, grey = gray, beige, scarlet (deep red), olive green, pastel, mauve, tan, pink, crimson (a type of red), auburn
A “dark colour” e.g., dark blue, dark green; a “light colour”; a “bright colour”.
Other adjectives that are commonly used to describe colours – "cool", "warm", "soft"
Grey (gray) is sometimes described as a "bland" colour.
Here are some "soft colours" or "soft hues" –
These colours tend to relax people. On the other hand, bright colours tend to lift people's mood or even excite them.
The adjective "saturated" is not suitable to use when referring to colours in the IELTS test when answering questions about the everyday use of colours. That word is used more by scientists and experts in the use of colour in scientific or technical contexts. It would not be "wrong" to talk about "saturated" colours or use some variation of that word but you should ALSO tell the examiner that you are speaking in scientific or technical terms. Normally in the speaking test you should use everyday language, not technical or expert language that average English speakers might not be familiar with.
Multi-coloured
To dye, a dye, e.g., cloth, hair
A faded colour
Other uses of colours (besides decoration, art and for clothes) – Colours are often used symbolically, to represent something. The best example is traffic lights where red means "stop", green means "go" and orange (or yellow) means, "prepare to stop soon". Another example is the use of colours to represent different things in graphs. For example, the different sectors of a pie chart are often shown with different colours to make the pie chart easier to read. Yet another example is the use of colours to represent a group, such as people in a club or organization all wearing the same colour. This is similar to people wearing a uniform. Look on the internet for "Colour Revolution" (or, "Color Revolution") when people who were engaged in a revolution all wore a certain colour to show their solidarity as a group.
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“Eating out” means eating away from home, not necessarily eating outside, under the sky, under the stars, in the fresh air
To have a meal = to eat a meal (not "to take a meal")
“How often do you cook?” – Include an estimate of how often, such as, “About 3 times a week”, “On average, about three times a week.”
“Can you explain why many people enjoy cooking?” “To enjoy doing something” means to get pleasure from doing it.
Examples:
they like to be creative (you should explain in what way)
they get a sense of achievement;
they like the challenge of creating something perfect;
they like the appreciation that others show for a nice meal that they have cooked;
they get satisfaction from knowing that they are fulfilling the needs of their family (and themselves) for (healthy) nourishment;
they get satisfaction from knowing that they are feeding their family (or themselves) much healthier food than what they can eat in a restaurant;
they like the feeling of being in control of what they are doing, which they may (might) not experience at work or school;
(when they are a bit hungry) they like to experience the anticipation of eating the meal;
they find it particularly interesting to observe (or, to study) the behaviour of different types of food when these foods undergo the cooking process
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To “cook” really means to use heat in food preparation.
A home-delivered meal; a take-away meal
Other vocabulary: cafeteria & canteen (e.g., at work, school), café (this is not the same as a coffee shop), take-away food (a take-away meal), food that is ordered and then delivered to you (home-delivered meal); a snack, to snack
“Fast food” is very general and can include Chinese food, not just Western-style fast foods.
“Street food” is food that is sold and possibly also made in a small temporary stall on the street, or by a mobile vendor. Most often street food items are snacks, either savoury or sweet.
Generally, there is no need to describe your everyday food as “delicious” unless you want to emphasize that it is/was especially delicious, i.e., more delicious than usual. “Delicious food” means, “very good tasting food” and most of us normally don’t eat food that doesn’t taste good so we don’t need to describe our typical, everyday food as “delicious”.
However, most people would say they think their favourite food is, “delicious”
“Really delicious” is better than, “Very delicious”
To nibble at/on some food; to pick at some food; to munch on a food item;
To “polish off” some food = to eat it all, to finish eating some food
To “pig out” (colloquial) = to binge eat; to overeat, usually quickly; to eat quickly
To gobble up = to eat something completely and quickly, with enthusiasm
a glutton
a gourmet
A mouthful, a morsal
A taste (= a try of a small amount of food or drink), the taste, to taste, tasty, tasteless
Some extra vocabulary about cooking is at http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/vocabulary_lists_2.htm#27.%20Cooking
and at http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/vocabulary_lists.htm#15.%20Restaurants%20&%20Food
Avoid the use of the word "cuisine" unless you know the appropriate use of it.
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Positive or Optimistic news stories: happy, joyous (extremely happy), focussing on the positive, wholesome, uplifting
Negative or Pessimistic news stories” focusing on the negative, worrying, disquieting (formal), concerning, scary / anxiety, anxious, nervous, nervousness (E.g. repeated news about murders or other crimes, or an over-emphasis sad news such as about natural disasters etc.)
“infotainment” is a new word. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infotainment
The news media – inform the public; the entertainment media – to amuse the public
The media – a plural word. “Medias” is not used. Singular is “a medium” but the singular is not used as often as the plural word.
See also 21. The Sections of a Newspaper
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Health, healthy, healthiness
healthy = in good health, in (to have) robust health, physically fit
Fit, fitness - Physical strength, strong, energetic, in good shape (opposite = out of shape, out of condition), energy, flexible; endurance, endure; speed, exercise facilities
deleterious, harmful, detrimental to good health
Illness, sickness, disease, preventive medicine (e.g. herbal medicine)
Overweight, obese (= very overweight), obesity, calories, to overeat, fatty food, starchy food, carbohydrates, sugary drinks, junk food,
“couch potato”, inactive, lazy, a sedentary lifestyle, desk-bound
exercise; heart, lungs, muscles
Aerobic exercises, cardio-vascular exercise, flexibility exercises
diet, dietary (eating) habits; nutrition, nutritious, wholesome, a balanced diet, vitamins, minerals, vegetarian, organic vegetables. processed food
to fast, fasting = skipping one or more meals
health products; health information; health education
to "live a healthy lifestyle" = to have a healthy lifestyle (not: "in a healthy lifestyle")
to "pull an all-nighter" = to work all night
avoid + verbal noun. E.g., "avoid eating junk food", "avoid smoking".
mental health, stress
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“The Ming Dynasty”. The word “the” is needed.
“The 17th Century”. The word “the” is needed.
A saying: “History is written by the victors” (the victor = the winning side in a war)
A saying: “History repeats itself.”
A saying: “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat the mistakes of history”.
Archaeology; an excavation, to excavate
Historical relics, historical artefacts
“Ancient history” = older than about 2,000 years
The “Modern Era”. This can be within the past 200 years or so. But for China, it could refer to the period after the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 or the period after the creation of the “new China” in 1949.
A revolution, a civil war
In English, these are the names used in English for two historical figures in modern China – Sun Yat Sen & Jiang Kai Shek
Make sure to pronounce any names in your your language especially clearly because examiners might not be familiar with the name.
History = the evolution of a group of people (e.g., a society, a nation) => Understanding the current situation based on knowledge of the past; making the best decisions for the future
History in popular in (commercial) films – “poetic licence”; a film = an art form; a commercial enterprise. BUT documentary films or videos might be quite accurate.
Rotting wood, to rot
Peeling paint, to peel
A leaking roof, to leak
Historical buildings - A legacy of the whole nation – The government represents the whole nation.
A statue
A tomb
A palace
to commemorate an event in history
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Grammar is being strongly tested in this topic or question.
“It would have …”; “It would be …”; “There would be . . . in . . .”
You should not use “will” or “hope” because both of those are used when referring to the real future, not an imaginary future. Also avoid, “wish”.
You can include what your ideal home would have in the backyard or front yard (if it is a house) but focus more on the building, the rooms and other facilities inside the home.
If you use the word, “villa” pronounce it clearly. Not all English speakers use that word very often.
Urbanization, to urbanize, migration from the countryside to the cities
A “modern” house or apartment = probably less than 20 years old.
An “old” house, apartment or building = probably more than 40 years old
“Traditional” = has been part of the culture for, usually, several hundred years or even thousands of years. Or, it was part of the culture in the past.
Architecture, architect, architectural, design, style
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having a high IQ; a high IQ person; a person with a high IQ
mathematical intelligence, verbal intelligence, spatial intelligence
"EQ" = "emotional intelligence", a term from a book written in the 1980s or 1990s
brainy (used mainly by children & less well-educated people)
smart (American English but widely used in British English now)
clever (more British English. Many people associate “cleverness” more with impressing others with ingenuity etc, such as “a clever magic trick”, “a clever plan to defraud the insurance company”.)
a quick learner
bright
brilliant
"intelligent beyond his years" to describe a child, a (child) prodigy
exceptional, a genius
"gifted" = a rather old-fashioned word to describe someone who has exceptional talent, a especially mental talent. The word is based on the idea that God "gave" some people more talent than others. (Therefore it is not a suitable word for an atheist to use.) This idea was what people used to think when they had no other explanation, or theory, to explain why or how a person had exceptional talent.
creative, imaginative, inventive, original
knowledgeable, well-informed, enlightened, well-read, erudite, learned (pronounced as, "learn-id" or "learn-ed")
highbrow
rational, logical, analytical, perceptive,
resourceful, ingenious
able, capable
clever, astute, a whiz at . . .
profound, deep
quick, sharp
quick-witted
witty (applied to quick humour using words)
a wise person (usually to describe older adults who have learned from experience - NOT exactly the same as "an intelligent person".)
The "Nature versus Nurture" debate
The main source of a person's intelligence, (according to the "nurture" theory) is a mentally stimulating early childhood environment.
to stifle a child's intellectual development e.g., by discouraging a child's curiosity or willingness to try different things (to experiment)
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Summarize what you usually do from the time you get up to midday. List the things in order of when you do them and add comments for some things, such as saying, “which …”.
Use the present tense, never the past tense and usually “will” is not suitable.
Use adverbs of time such as: always, usually, sometimes, often, never, rarely, seldom etc.
I get up at 7.30, brush my teeth, eat breakfast, leave home at 8.15, catch the bus / train, start work at 9, check my email, attend a morning meeting, have (take) a break at 10 o’clock . . .
Add some details or comments to some (not all) of the things you say you do.
Past routine – “I used to ….”, “I would ….”
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